Samurai and Ninja: The Real Story Behind the Japanese Warrior Myth That Shatters the Bushido Mystique (14 page)

5.  Early Muromachi
Blades of the early part of the Muromachi Period are reminiscent in construction to the blades of the early Kamakura Period. When compared to the shape of the Nanbokucho Period, the shape has completely changed and no longer includes
o-kissaki
. At around 2.4–5 shaku (72.7–75.7 cm) in length, they are quite narrow and deeply curved, with a medium-sized point section. At first glance they may appear somewhat similar to Kamakura Period blades, but on closer inspection they are
saki-zori
character.

6.  Late Muromachi
By the late Muromachi Period, samurai fighting methods had changed from cavalry to mass infantry-style warfare.
Uchigatana
, worn with the cutting edge uppermost thrust through the sash, had become popular. After the Onin War, conflicts broke out in many places and
kazu-uchi mono
began to appear (mass-produced blades inferior in quality to regular Japanese blades). However, specially ordered blades of excellent quality (
chumon-uchi
) were also produced at this time. Bizen (Okayama prefecture) and Mino (Gifu prefecture) were the major places of production. Many blades produced in this period are around 2.1 shaku (63.6 cm) in length. They are slightly wider than the standard width, with either a
chu-kissaki
or an extended
chu-kissaki
and strong
saki-zori
. The
nakago
are short, intended for one-handed use.

7.  Azuchi-Momoyama
Swords produced up to the Keicho era (1596–1614) are classified as
kotõ
(“old blades”). Blades made during and after this era are classified as
shintõ
(“new swords”). When Japan entered the Azuchi-Momoyama Period, many smiths moved to Edo or Kyoto, or gathered in castle towns of various influential daimyo. Additionally, developments in transportation brought about experimentation with materials, and foreign-made steel (known as
nanbantetsu
) was utilized. The blade’s shape from around this period mirrors that of shortened Nanbokucho blades. They are generally wide, with little or no difference between the
moto
and
saki-haba
. Many have an extended
chu-kissaki
, while some have
o-kissaki
, with a thick
kasane
and are usually around 2.4–5 shaku (72.7–75.8 cm) in length.

8.  Mid-Edo
Swords of the mid-Edo Period are of standard width. The
saki-haba
is relatively narrow when compared to the
moto-haba
. The curvature is noticeably shallow with a small to medium-sized point section. They are usually around 2.3 shaku (69.7 cm) in length. This particular type of construction was generally produced around the middle of the Kanbun (1661–73) and Enpo (1673–81) eras, and is usually referred to as Kanbun-shintõ.

9.  Edo Period, Genroku era
The change in shape of Japanese swords between the Jokyo (1684–88) and Genroku (1688–1704) eras reflects the transition of shape from Kanbun-shintõ blades to the beginning of the Shin-shintõ period of sword manufacture. As it was a very peaceful period in Japanese history, rather flamboyant
hamon
appear, and as opposed to that of Kanbun-shintõ blades, the curvature is quite deep.

10. Edo Period, Bakamatsu era
Blades made after the Bunka (1804–18) and Bunsei (1818–30) eras are referred to as
fukko-shintõ
(revival swords). Pioneers of the revival movement include Suishinshi Masahide and Nankai Taro Tomotaka. Taikei Naotane was among Masahide’s students. Minamoto Kiyomaro led a revival aimed at
soshu-den
and Mino-Shizu workmanship. Bakumatsu blades are shallow in curvature, have a wide
haba
with not much difference in width between the
saki
and
moto-haba
, and are around 2.5–6 shaku (75.7–78.7 cm) in length, with an
o-kissaki
and thick
kasane
.

Testing the sword

Test cutting on bamboo and rolled straw is now a staple of the samurai image; however, it does have a darker side. The use of convicted criminals or the corpses of dead criminals was done to test the efficiency of a blade. In addition to this, there was also the criminal activity of
tsujigiri
—“testing swords on passers-by at night.”

Cleaning and sharpening the sword

If you have held an original samurai sword it is likely that it was in a dim museum room or antique collectors shop. You will have been passed the sword, blade upright with the back of the blade towards your face. Then you probably rested the blade on the sleeve of your jacket and commented on the beauty of the object, before you passed it back in the same manner, white gloves grasping the black hilt. In contrast, a samurai would grab it in a flash, draw it and hack a man’s head off with it or open up his belly, spilling his guts; then if it was bent he would try and hammer it back into shape—not quite the same treatment. Also, if you have ever seen a sword polished and cleaned, the whole affair is a delicate art and the sword is not allowed to be breathed on in some circles (a factor that one of my friends was unaware of when he was politely told by the head teacher of Katori Shinto Ryu, when we were having tea and biscuits with him one day, and the friend had happened to breath all over the sword). In contrast, a samurai, after he had removed the blade from the head of his victim, would normally pick up horse droppings, or gravel, fold it inside some paper and scratch the blade as he cleaned the slopping red liquid off the sword. This means that in modern and some high-class circles of samurai days, swords were regarded as elegant works of art, but for the common samurai his sword was a vicious tool. It must be stressed that you have to be careful not to sway too far from the image that is already present and know that in fact a samurai would take good care of his sword. They would have it cleaned and polished if needed, they would give another samurai’s sword respect—a respect for the samurai owner which was transferred through the sword. The sword was held as a valuable weapon and a thing of beauty, but it was also a practical weapon. Therefore a middle view is required: a sword was the racecar of its day, a high performance instrument that was to be cared for but was also an object that could be destroyed in the heat of the moment. Remember, a samurai may have many swords or just a single pair; he would keep it clean and look after it, but the idea of highly polished swords that are passed around in whispers is a modern idea as samurai often came to blows in drinking parties—complaints about bent and broken swords are not few in number.

The
Shoka no Hyojo
manual from the first two decades of the 1600s gives great examples of this less professional approach to sharpening and cleaning a blade.

Hayanetaba no Koto

Quick Sharpening

The following recipe is taken from a secret text from within a tradition of swords-manship:

Use a skin of a toad: Skin a toad in the hour of the Cockerel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month and dry it in the shade. Carry this with you and when you wipe your sword with it, you will find that your sword can even cut through iron or stone. This is also known as
Netaba no Daiji
: this is an oral tradition.

Nori wo Otosu Kusuri no Koto

A recipe to wipe clean coagulated blood
[from the blade of a sword]

This recipe is also taken from the writing of the above swordsmanship school: Skin a mole and dry the skin in the shade, sprinkle powdered
boseki
stone on the fur side and carry this to wipe the blade after you have killed someone. This will remove the blood extremely well. There is more on this in oral traditions.

The above two skills are
haya-waza
—ad hoc skills.

The above shows that the idea of a samurai “flicking the blood” from his sword in a swift motion is a romantic idea and most of the time, paper, horse manure, mole and toad skins and the like were used—a much less romantic image. Of course a samurai would then have to clean the swords properly at the next convenient time to stop them from rusting, but simply flicking the blood off a blade should be considered more ceremonial. This leads us to consider idealistic notions of the samurai in battle and samurai warfare.

The Reality of Battle

Warfare in Japan, like warfare around the world, moved through stages of development and while the veneer of the samurai image overlays all of samurai history, the skills of samurai warfare adapted and changed. Up until this point, the image of the samurai has been developing in your mind’s eye. The castle of the samurai looms on hilltops and in flatland defensive positions while the military and portable battle camp, with its spiked defenses and ditches overlooked by watchtowers, sits against the gray skyline. Enemy trenches and huts surround fortifications and war curtains have been erected, signal fires and beacons are on hilltops and mountain crests, horns blare, bells chime and drums beat on the wind, passing their hidden and open messages to the troops. Above all, columns of thin smoke tell of a signal being manned in the distance. Outside of these fortifications, samurai armies move through valleys—but never over the crests of hills—and through ancient forests, forming up on battlefields, displaying the substantial or the insubstantial. Two or more armies join on the field of battle after a game of “cat and mouse,” all done to acquire the best positioning, ranks form up and get ready to clash. The cavalry will try to outflank the divisions and fleets will blockade escape routes or other troops from landing. The drums beat the approach and the ashigaru march forward, arrows nocked and muskets primed; they move together or in open formation so that the samurai can charge through, each looking to be the first spear of the battle or even to achieve
ichibankubi
—
to capture the first head
. While a change in battle tactics, the use of foot soldiers over samurai, the introduction of guns, the decline of mounted warfare and modernization are all important factors to take into account, the main issue to understand and accept is that samurai warfare develops and cannot be pinned down to a single style—also that it has variations between clans, and that evolution and regression have their part to play. At the heart of all this is a military trained, soldier-warrior who has religious determination, who is trained in the ways of weapons and of tactics, with a hardened edge that comes with having taken human life. Standing on the field of battle, his “tribe” with him, his crest splashed across his banner pole, with headband keeping the sweat back, he can see the enemy massed before him. The question is what will kill him first?

The Most Common Killer of Samurai

There have been various examinations of battle wounds and archaeological reports on the frequency of wounds given by Japanese weapons and while some of the statistics differ slightly, a general theme emerges. It has to be taken into account that weapons technology developed greatly, so the following list is a general overview—if you wish to examine a specific time then the position of each may shift.

Most samurai deaths were caused by:

1. Arrows

2. Bullets (this becomes the most common cause towards the end of the Warring States Period)

3. Pole-arms

4. Swords

5. Rocks and stones

The most common killer of samurai is projectile weapons and killing at a distance, followed by the clash of spears and then, lastly, the melee of swords. The idea of the samurai facing off in a sword fight as the world battles around him is a romantic notion and in truth he would have to pass the great volleys of arrows and later on arrows and bullets mixed. Generally a battle consists of the following components:

1. Initial duels or contests (if any)

2. Arrows and gunshot when in range

3. The approach and clash of both sides with spears

4. The general melee

5. The retreat, victory or stand-off

Samurai warfare is complex and many factors contribute to a victory—cavalry charges, deceptive movements, fire attacks, etc.—but in the main, a samurai should worry more about deadly projectiles coming from the sky or the bow of a samurai on horseback than an armed opponent charging them with a sword. But all of the above do kill.

War Cries

War cries can be divided into four basic types:

Before Battle

A single person cries out “Ei, Ei” (this is pronounced “A-A”); after this everyone cries out “Ou” (pronounced “O”), making the war cry “A-A-O” (as said in the alphabet).

Upon Victory

The victors move to the area where the enemy once stood to display dominance; from there they perform the same war cry as above.

After Capturing a Castle

When a castle has been captured, the victors cry out together “A-A-O, A-A-O.” The first one is made by a single man who says “A-A-O” and then everyone cries back “A-A-O.”

At a Head Inspection